If you have a really tight spot to get into.
Do NOT slide your tandems until you are lined up with the door.

That tail wiggle is your friend when things are tight.

Does moving them forward all the way help?

Tandems:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

Tandem:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

TWIC:

Transportation Worker Identification Credential

Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.

Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

To clarify, did you mean do not slide your tandems forward before you're lined up with the door because that tail wagging is not your friend when things are tight?

If you have the room to spare near the nose of the tractor it's often easier to slide your tandems back toward the rear to prevent the wide swing of the trailer you'll have if the tandems are slid forward when doing a 90 degree back.

Tandems:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

Tandem:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

If you have a really tight spot to get into.
Do NOT slide your tandems until you are lined up with the door.

That tail wiggle is your friend when things are tight.

Does moving them forward all the way help?

It helps in tight backing situations because the trailer turns quicker. The downside is the overhang can hit a truck if youre not careful or don't GOAL.

Tandems:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

Tandem:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

TWIC:

Transportation Worker Identification Credential

Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.

Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

Rainy, I had my first Walmart DC last week. I was thinking man I wish everybody's lots were this easy. Was a drop and hook too. This week it's been 2 Hershey DCs drop and hooks. Plenty of room there. I find backing with the tandems all the way back way easier when there's that much room. Thought to myself, Why did my trainer always have me slide them after in the hole? I still have trouble with intial set-up though. I go slow and G.O.A.L. I also assist others when they seem to be struggling. Others have assisted me and I believe in paying it forward.

Tandems:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

Tandem:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

Drop And Hook:

Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.

In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.

So now I have a question, how many times do you actually come across these super tight or difficult backing situations. 10%, 25% or 50% of the time? I am sure there are tons of buildings and lots built prior to the Sleeper Cab and just were not designed for a longer wheelbase.

After thinking about this, I realize "tight" is relative. What I thought was tight in the beginning can often be easy now. What my trainee thought was tight the other day was actually not hard for me.

So obviously, as you get better your perception changes.

I will say that in the beginning I did pay a couple yard dogs to drop the trailer in doors I thought were really hard.

When looking for parking always go for the easy spot. There are no bonuses to squeeze into a spot between trucks when there's three open spaces next to each other in the next row. Lol

A lot of time when pulling flatbed, the load you have can affect your backing. If I've got a low profile load like sheet steel or bars it's not bad. If I've got a tall skinny load of drywall or a coil, that trailer will start to tip. That's just an added challenge to the spot itself is the setup. Also, a lot of Georgia Pacifics have tight docks so their employees can get on the trailer without a gap to fall through. Most of the cappy docks I've hit have been in the northeast and Chicago area.

I genuinely enjoy getting put into tight docks or out of the ordinary spots. My last on was a CVS DC in Orlando. After I got backed in I hopped out of the truck to talk to the driver next to me and see if they normally took long to unload.. After we talked for a minute he told me he was surprised I got into that spot cause they normally used the dock I was in for trailers the yard jockey was dropping..

A little while later someone from the dock came out and let me know I had been assigned the wrong dock and that I needed to moved. He also wanted know how I got a full sleeper truck into it.

Things like that make me smile to myself.

When I first started I wouldn't pull through a parking spot no matter what... Always back in the beginning you'll thank yourself later.

On the other hand... an "easy wide open spot" is still pretty hard. But the really tight "scratch your head spots" are kinda fun.

If you have a really tight spot to get into.
Do NOT slide your tandems until you are lined up with the door.

That tail wiggle is your friend when things are tight.

This is one of those things that is a preference or not. I say that because my trainer had me do this, and to this day, I still do.

However, most men who come to offer me unsolicited advice cause I'm a woman will give.me the reasoning Adam.stated: "slide the tandems.back to avoid the overhang from hitting the other truck".

What's funny is I DID slide them back for the situation in the original post comment. And of course, a man came over to tell me never to do that I. The future. The wiggle is your friend.

Everyone does it differently. Whichever works best for you is the way to do it lol

Tandems:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

Tandem:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

TWIC:

Transportation Worker Identification Credential

Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.

Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

It depends a lot upon the angle you're coming in at. If you have the room to bring the trailer around and get it lined up pretty straight with the hole before you have to enter that narrow opening it doesn't matter where your tandems are. If you're coming in at a shallow angle, say a 45 degree angle, having your tandems slid forward is going to create a lot of swing on the back of that trailer and it's going to make it much more difficult to get it backed in there. It would be easier to have your tandems slid back when approaching from a shallow angle.

Tandems:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

Tandem:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

Preview:

Submit

Cancel

Click Anywhere To Close

Join Us!

We have an awesome set of tools that will help you understand the trucking industry and prepare for a great start to your trucking career. Not only that, but everything we offer here at TruckingTruth is 100% free - no strings attached! Sign up now and get instant access to our member's section:

Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth

Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:

About Us

TruckingTruth was founded by Brett Aquila (that's me!), a 15 year truck driving veteran, in January 2007. After 15 years on the road I wanted to help people understand the trucking industry and everything that came with the career and lifestyle of an over the road trucker. We'll help you make the right choices and prepare for a great start to your trucking career.

Becoming A Truck Driver

Becoming A Truck Driver is a dream we've all pondered at some point in our lives. We've all wondered if the adventure and challenges of life on the open road would suit us better than the ordinary day to day lives we've always known. At TruckingTruth we'll help you decide if trucking is right for you and help you get your career off to a great start.